The Warden of the Witches Chapter 171

Chapter 171: Our Own People

    Aiden sat in his office, scanning through the files arranged by Veronica on the desk.


    In the past two weeks, there had been quite a few prisoners incarcerated, totaling around fifty to sixty across all the prison blocks. It wasn't practical to thoroughly examine them all.


    The Cadria Autonomous State, due to historical and political reasons, had become a long-term neutral autonomous region in the central-southern continent. This made the autonomous state a political buffer zone for surrounding countries. The Multinational Inquisition Cooperation Organization headquarters related to the "Black Magic Management Convention" was established within the autonomous state's borders. In terms of the Convention's affairs, the autonomous state held a special position different from other regions of various countries.


    Subsequently, the autonomous state signed explicit extradition treaties with almost all Convention countries. Some prisoners, when extradited between countries, would also be transferred to prisons in the autonomous state as a "stopover". Some countries even released prisoners for special reasons and transferred them to the autonomous state for incarceration.


    The Rose Prison was a large-scale prison capable of accommodating four thousand people, and like other prisons in the autonomous state, the turnover rate of prisoners here was unusually high.


    Aiden and Veronica first selected from the files those prisoners whose registered birthplaces were outside the autonomous state, whose contact addresses were questionable, and whose identities were unclear, and arranged them according to their time of imprisonment.


    "One person last week, and this week... five people?" Aiden frowned as he inspected the files in front of him.


    The increase seemed very unnatural, and the files of these five people this week seemed to have no connection; it was definitely not a group crime leading to mass incarcerations.


    Due to its geographical location and special political status, many people passed through the autonomous state from surrounding countries. In fact, about twenty to thirty percent of the criminals housed in the Rose Prison came from outside the autonomous state.


    Even so, in the Rose Prison, the frequency of appearance of prisoners with unclear identity information is only about one or two per week.


    The more detailed the investigation, the more likely it seems that the prison is being infiltrated and probed.


    With the presence of Qimora, who possesses the "Void" divine language, at the Witch gathering, there's no need for such low-level tactics.


     The only suspicious party is the Bountifull Mother Goddess cult.


    Just two quarters of an hour ago, the guard who was monitoring the body rushed over to report that the body had indeed decomposed as Melusine had described, turning into a pile of viscous blood and loose bones. And then, another quarter of an hour later, the guard returned to report that even the remains had become as loose as weathered limestone and impossible to preserve.


    Indeed, it resembled the artificial humans known to Aiden, but there are significant differences between alchemical artificial humans and ordinary humans. Clues can easily be discerned through blood sample analysis alone, yet the prisoner's medical examination report was basically normal. She was slightly more intact than an alchemical artificial human and closer to a normal human...


    It's no wonder, after all, alchemy and black magic are ultimately just incomplete divine language powers.


    There's no need for further suspicion. Just as Melissa predicted, the Bountifull Mother Goddess cult has indeed begun to make a move on this prison.


    And besides the prisoner who suddenly died today, the Bountifull Mother Goddess cult has undoubtedly thrown in other nuns as well...


    After all, for this cult, "manpower" is the least valuable commodity.


    What should be done? Should the newly arrived prisoners be closely guarded? Should efforts be made to transfer suspicious prisoners away?


    In a brief moment of reflection, Aiden realized that these measures passing through his mind were utterly meaningless.


    The leakage of information within the prison ultimately wasn't due to infiltration by the Bountifull Mother Goddess cult but rather because of deliberate leaks by the Witch Gathering. According to Melissa, the Bountifull Mother Goddess cult had long viewed him as a potential enemy.


    from the start It was never possible to prevent the Bountifull Mother Goddess cult from targeting him.


    Furthermore, once the prisoners come in, they can pass on information with just one visit or letter delivery. Even if they couldn't do it themself, they could use favors to buy the help of other prisoners. Trying to cut off communication between the entire prison and the outside world is unrealistic.


    However, as prisoners, the amount of information they can gather is very limited, mostly confined to the parts of the prison that are "knowable." It seems that the Bountifull Mother Goddess cult is simply tossing in expendable manpower to gather as much information from the prison as possible, without incurring much cost.


    After all, their goal is not to bring down the entire Rose Prison but rather to target Aiden alone.


    But even so, it's still quite a hassle for Aiden. When someone dies in the prison, even if it's a sick prisoner without any relatives, the reports and other aftermath work still require a considerable amount of effort for him as the warden.


    The fact that the Bountifull Mother Goddess cult is still sending people in, means there might be more deaths in the near future...


    At this moment, Aiden suddenly felt that it would be quite easy for the Bountifull Mother Goddess cult to get rid of him. They could just use those short-lived nuns to overwhelm his prison, and the stress alone could kill him...


    Of course, that's just a joke. The most direct way for the Bountifull Mother Goddess cult to eliminate him would be to send these nuns to hunt him down directly—this situation is much more serious than when Vera targeted him; the opponents are simply not on the same level.


    It seems that he really does need to join forces with the Witch Gathering. Before Qimora visits again, he needs to seriously consider how to negotiate with the Witch Gathering...


    "Sir? Um... Chief?"


    Veronica's voice suddenly brought him back from his reverie, and he focused his gaze on her face, which carried a hint of concern.


    Aiden realized that he had probably missed Veronica's call while he was preoccupied with his worries. He smiled apologetically, "Ah, sorry, I was a bit distracted."


    "Is it a very tricky situation?" Veronica hesitated for a moment, then seemed to gather her courage and looked Aiden in the eye as she asked, "Sir, if you don't mind me asking boldly, are you currently involved in confidential matters that I absolutely shouldn't interfere with... or even know about?"


    "Well..." Aiden was momentarily taken aback by her direct gaze.


    Indeed, a large part of the areas he was involved in were confidential matters that couldn't be shared with others, publicly or privately. However, he could sense that Veronica wanted to help him proactively, and he should respect that intention.


    Veronica... she was one of the few "people" he could trust without having to consider complex interests. He had no reason to choose to fight this battle alone in this regard.


    After a moment of thought, Aiden gave his response, "Indeed, some aspects involve confidentiality, but not everything is off-limits for discussion. Some matters may go beyond the responsibilities of the prison and are only relevant to me personally. Even so, would you still like to hear about them?"


    "Please, do!" Veronica's eyes lit up.


    "Then, please have a seat over there, and I'll make us some tea," Aiden said as he got up from his chair.